«Master. Now that we've accepted so many people, wouldn't it be good to prepare rewards for those who have made significant contributions to this land?»
"A reward-nanodesu?"
Teto cocked her head at the idea Baretta proposed while we were discussing the current situation of the «Forest of the Creation Witch».
"You're right, a system with a proper reward and punishment is sorely needed."
As of now, Baretta and a few others were primarily in charge of creating laws and rules for the people who had moved here. However, there were no specific rewards for those who made some sort of achievement.
"Well, I guess I do need to come up with some kind of a reward considering I'm the leader, at least in name. So...... what do you think would be good?"
"For Teto, being together with Majou-sama is the reward-nanodesu!"
«That's... indeed a fascinating reward. I would like to have this reward please.»
"Hold your horses, you guys! Can you please not treat me as a reward!"
I really didn't know if both of them were serious or just teasing me. But to be honest, there wasn't any conventional reward that could be conferred within the «Forest of the Creation Witch».
For example, this land didn't have a noble system, and as for the leadership role, there was just me and the representatives of each race. Everyone else was treated impartially. The sole exception could be said to be Dragon Grandpa, though that was fair since he was the Dragon God of the Angelkin and the Dragon-Demon race.
So this land didn't have the custom of conferring status, position, or land.
I also thought about offering money as a reward for their contribution, but then again, the problem was that the «Forest of the Creation Witch» barely had any place where currency was used.
So, rewarding them with money at this stage wouldn't make sense, and we might appear like we were just being perfunctory.
"Then let's have Majou-sama praise them for their deed in person! Teto is sure they will be delighted!"
"But this won't be feasible in case the Master is absent, Teto-sama."
"Besides, I don't believe anyone would be that delighted to receive praise and recognition from me."
I haven't abandoned my desire to travel to other places with Teto, so it wouldn't make any sense to prepare a reward that couldn't be given during our absence.
For a short while, the three of us wracked our brains to come up with something.
"Hmm, maybe a medal will do?"
"Medal? Not money?"
Hearing my murmur, Teto tilted her head inquisitively.
"Yeah, we can award medals crafted from precious metals to those who've made substantial contributions. It will just be a token of sorts without any significance for now, but I'm sure money is going to be an integral factor in their lives one day. When that happens, we can establish an exchange rate where they can trade these medals for a certain number of gold coins."
Furthermore, if the medals themselves held inherent value as precious metals, the recipients could potentially obtain some cash by selling them outside even if they decided to leave the «Forest of the Creation Witch». It was somewhat akin to a form of local currency.
As I voiced this opinion, Baretta, who had been quietly listening, nodded her head repeatedly.
«I understand. In that case, there will be competition among the residents to collect medals, igniting a sense of rivalry among them. This competition will, in turn, motivate them to work diligently to contribute to the territory. As expected of Master, your foresight exceeds my wildest expectations.......»
"Give me a break, I really didn't think that far ahead...... Anyway, let me try to create some medals—— «Creation»!"
Using my «Creation Magic», I created the medals that would serve as rewards. I used the medals from my previous world as a reference and created three types: Orichalcum, Adamantite, and Mithril. Each of these was a rare magic metal.
The newly created patternless medals gleamed beautifully.
"Amazing! It looks so sparkly and delicious-nanodesu!"
"Ahaha, that's just so like you."
A wry smile appeared on my face at the words of Teto, whose eyes gleamed after seeing the three magic metals as if she were eyeing a world-class delicacy. Baretta took them in her arms and said,
«Now we just need to engrave a design on them. The purity of these magic metals is also 100%, so they will surely be magnificent rewards.»
The rest of the time was spent deciding on the design and size of the medals with respect to the weight, value, and mana required for creating them. After all, Adamantine was the hardest and heaviest metal and had a relatively high density so if we wanted to create a proper size medal — and not just a tiny piece of metal — a hole-ridden design was a must.
The following day, we had finally finalized and completed the three medals. The «Witch's Orichalcum Medal», with a stylized image of my profile engraved on it, the «World Tree's Mithril Medal», and lastly, the «Ancient Dragon's Adamantite Hollow Medal», which had holes surrounding its edges.
On the back side of the orichalcum and mithril medals, the profile of goddess Liliel was engraved, while on the hollow medal, her wing design was pictured like they were embracing those holes.
I had opposed the idea of engraving my side profile but under the majority vote from Baretta, Teto, and the others, they smoothly ignored all of my protests and went along with the idea.
......I was supposed to be their leader, right? They were supposed to listen to me, right?
SIDE: Elf Refrya
The boundary of the «Forest of the Creation Witch» was enveloped by the great barrier of the goddesses and beyond it was the monster-infested region which was filled with obstruction magic learned from the Eldar Forest Kingdom that created interference to keep outsiders from entering.
Currently, a group was making their way through the said monster-infester region turned forest of illusion.
"Hey, you guys! Have we still not reached the forest of the rumored Immortal Witch!?"
"It's uncharted territory! We must find it quicker before someone beats us to it!"
The two men, while being protected by a group of several men, were trying to find their way to the «Forest of the Creation WItch».
One of them had served as a guild master in the Adventurers Guild of a city within the now-ruined Crista Kingdom, which was brought to its knees by the catastrophic monster stampede. The other was a priest affiliated with the Five Goddesses Church hailing from the Durge Principality, the nation responsible for triggering the stampede, which subsequently met its own demise due to the calamity it had created.
In the wake of their nations' downfall, they lost not only their positions but also their influence, honor, and reputation within their respective organizations. Well, they themselves were the authors of their doomed destinies as instead of protecting the citizens from the stampede, they decided to flee with the wealth they had amassed and their personal groups of adventurers, mercenaries, and clergymen.
This cowardly act of escaping instead of facing their adversary consequently resulted in a negative appraisal from their respective organizations. With any prospect of being assigned to a new town now gone, the only probable option they had was to work as ordinary staff in the adventure guild of a rural town or travel from one town to another as a pastor where church influence was minimal.
It was during that time they met and recognized each other's predicament which wasn't different from theirs, and together, they planned to seek out a new place that would serve as their new starting ground, the «Forest of the Creation Witch».
Though they were propelled by their own desires. One thought that if he managed to establish an Adventurer Guild in the «Forest of the Creation Witch», he would be able to take control of the super rare materials like materials from mythical beasts and world tree branches that were circulating Margrave Reebel's territory and the Gard Beastkin Nation in his hand.
On the other hand, the Priest planned to establish the «Forest of the Creation Witch» as a sacred place as it had undergone a remarkable transformation from a barren wasteland once known as the «Empty Wilderness» into a flourishing haven of nature and make it his new foothold by propagating the teachings of the Five Goddesses Church.
Moreover, if he could efficiently harness the power of the angelic race that had joined the stampede subjugation, the staff of reincarnation that had cleansed countless undead, and individuals like the «Saintess of Benediction» and the «Black-haired Saintess» who wielded the same staff with the support of the church's authority, he believed he could ascend even higher in the ranks.
Harboring such ambition in their hearts, the two walked through the forest of illusion.
